MLP: FiM Season 6 Episode 2: Long Loath the Queen Part 2
by bluethunder25
Summary: Twilight, Applejack, and Rarity seemed more content to stay in Elixa's kingdom than what was originally planned. And with them unable to help, it seems up to Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, and Rainbow Dash to figure exactly what is going on.
1. A Secret Revealed

Twilight, Applejack, and Rarity had openly declared their intentions to stay in Elixa's kingdom right in front of her, even though that wasn't part of the plan, much to Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, and Rainbow Dash's confusion. They had also expressed much positive affection for the queen which was also quite suspicious. It seemed as though the original plan had all but gone south as far as Twi, AJ, and Rarity were concerned.

The six ponies took a walk through Elixa's royal garden where the servant were trimming and sculpting more busts, statues and topiaries of Elixa; including a Mount Rushmore-like statues with four of her heads.

AJ noticed this and commented. "Now that is the purdiest I've ever seen Elixa look. Ain't she just the bee's knees?" she said.

"What?! Yesterday you were talking about how big an ego she has and now you're drooling over a statue of her?!" said Rainbow, noticing Applejack actually drooling.

Luckily, Pinkie had a napkin for her.

Fluttershy tickled her nose on one of the bushes and was about on it when Twilight blocked her sneeze with her magic. Rarity used her magic to give Fluttershy a handkerchief.

"Careful, Fluttershy, you almost sneezed on one of Queen Elixa's beautiful topiaries," said Twilight.

"Oh, sorry," said Fluttershy.

Rarity checked to make sure no damage had been done.

"What is with you two?! We came here to solve a friendship problem and now you're worrying about a stupid topiary?!" said Rainbow Dash.

"Rainbow! Elixa's topiaries are not stupid!" shouted Rarity.

"Yeah! Elixa's topiaries are not stupid!" shouted Twilight.

"Yeah! Elixa's topiaries are not stupid!" shouted Elixa.

Rainbow and Pinkie glared at Elixa. Somehow, they could tell she had something to do with whatever was going on with AJ, Twi, and Rare.

"It was you! You did something to them, I just know it!" said Rainbow Dash, pointing to Elixa.

"I did nothing of the sort. Your friends just came to respect and appreciate the marvelous, magnificent, malevolent, magnanimous, eh...mostly good looking, Queen Elixa," Elixa said.

"Well, she did help us out with guards. She can't be all that bad," said Fluttershy.

Elixa rushed over and placed an arm around Fluttershy. "Exactly! See? Now would such a bad pony do such a heartwarming and generous thing? Let me answer that, uh...no. Only me. I mean, I'm so generous it hurts, ohh, right in the gut right there! Wowee! My kindhearted nature did a number on me there," she said.

"Geez, she talks almost as much as me," Pinkie said to Rainbow.

"Yeah. And I thought Trixie had a big ego," said Rainbow Dash.

Twilight, Applejack, and Rarity on the other hoof thought her comments were very funny, very much so, to point of almost uncontrollable laughter until Elixa waved her hoof, making them stop.

"Listen, Elixia has been nothing but kind to us since we got here. The least we can do is return the favor," said Applejack.

"Plus, why would ever want to leave such a beautiful castle ruled by such a benevolent queen?" said Rarity.

"You wouldn't," Elixa said.

"Listen guys, I thought things were funny at first, but Elixa and I talked and she seems on the up and up, so we really don't have anything to worry about," said Twilight.

"Well, if you say we have nothing to worry about Twilight, then it's OK with us," said Fluttershy.

Rainbow and Pinkie were still a little incredulous, but Fluttershy assured her friends and Elixa that they were fine.

"Hey, I have a wild idea, how bout we go into the castle and admire my portraits?" Elixa asked.

Fluttershy, Pinkie, and Rainbow declined the offer, but Twilight, Rarity, and Applejack were more than happy to accept, complimenting Elixa as they accompanied her inside,

"There's something I don't trust about her," said Rainbow.

"Me either, wild ideas are my shtick," said Pinkie.

"Fluttershy, are you sure we can trust Elixa?" Rainbow asked.

"Oh, well, not really. I was just saying that to keep Elixa from getting suspicious. I mean, Twilight and the others are acting pretty weird. Rarity, I almost couldn't tell, but Applejack and especially Twilight didn't seem like themselves," said Fluttershy.

Rainbow and Pinkie nodded in agreement. Something was definitely up with their friends and they knew they needed to get to the bottom of it. And the answer was probably somewhere in the castle. But from their experience from last night, they also knew they would have to careful. Elixa had more than a hoof full of guards and more of them were probably gonna be gunning for them just like before.

"Alright listen up you guys! Obviously, Twilight, Applejack, and Rarity won't be able to help us, so it's up to figure out exactly what is going on," said Rainbow.

"And I know just how to do it," said Pinkie.

Pinkie grabbed both Rainbow and Fluttershy and took them behind the castle. After making sure no one was around, she pulled an army tent down from the sky and she, Rainbow, and Fluttershy were in army uniforms. Pinkie stood in front of a chalkboard as Rainbow and Fluttershy sat at a table in front of her.

"OK, here's the plan; Fluttershy will send a small group of mice to infiltrate Elixa's throne room and tie her up and then we interrogate her for answers," said Pinkie.

"I don't think Elixa is the kind of pony to let mice roam around her castle," said Rainbow.

"And I could never put cute little mice in such danger," said Fluttershy.

"OK...oh! How bout this; we tell Elixa that she has won an all expense paid trip to Manehatten to see the Juggling Polar Bears to get her and most of her guards out of the castle!" Pinkie suggested.

"Oh...that's good, but don't we usually take the Friendship Express to Manehatten?" Fluttershy said.

"And I'm not a big expert on Manehatten shows, but I'm pretty sure don't have juggling polar bears," said Rainbow Dash.

"No, but it would so cool if they did!" said Pinkie.

"Also, polar bears wouldn't survive in Manehatten. They are native to the Arctic Circle and can only survive in temperatures of up to -34 degrees Fahrenheit, which is -29 degrees Celsius," Fluttershy said.

"OK then, how bout this? We tell Elixa that the castle is infested with termites and tha she needs to leave the castle right away!" Pinkie suggested.

"Good, but again, Elixa doesn't seem like she would allow termites in her castle," said Rainbow.

Pinkie slumped her head down in annoyance. "Well does anyone else have a better plan?" she asked.

Rainbow flew over to Pinkie, lifted her up, and sat her next to Fluttershy. "Yeah, I do. We're gonna search for clues like we did last night, only this time, we're gonna stay together instead of splitting up," she said.

"But won't we cover more ground if we split up?" asked Fluttershy.

"Yeah, but if we're all together, there's a less chance of use getting caught. This way, we'll all have eyes in the back of our heads," said Rainbow.

"You know, I've always wondered what that would like. Being able to see in front and in back of me would be so awesome!" exclaimed Pinkie.

Rainbow Dash just rolled her eyes and then facehoofed before going back to the garden where Twilight, Applejack, Rarity; along with Elixa were talking to one of the servants who had finished making yet another statue of her.

Elixa examined the newly made statue thoroughly. "Good...great...spectacular!" she said.

"Really?" the servant said.

"No, honey, I'm just humoring you, it's terrible. Make it more fabulous, like me," said Elixa.

 _Absolutely, Queen Elixa_

 _As you wish, Queen Elixa_

Just then, the servant began to have a feeling of woosiness. "What? Huh? Where...am I?" the servant said wearily.

"Boy, who knew sculpting could exhaust a pony, huh? Twilight, Applejack, Rarity; why don't you take him into castle and get him a drink," Elixa said with a subtle wink.

"Of course, Queen Elixa," said Twilight.

"Yes, Queen Elixa," said Rarity.

"As you wish, Queen Elixa," said Applejack.

Rainbow Dash rubbed her chin in suspicion as all three of the ponies escorted the servant into the castle.

* * *

Just like last night, Rainbow, Pinkie, and Fluttershy waited until late in the night before going out to search. Rainbow Dash cracked her door open and checked for any guards. For right now, the coast was clear. She knocked on Pinkie and Fluttershy's doors and the three ponies met out in the hall.

"OK, so the plan is we stick together and keep an eye out for any guards. And most importantly, we only talk if one of us sees them, so for the most part, we have to make sure to keep quiet. Right, Pinkie Pie?" Rainbow said, giving Pinkie the lazy eye.

Pinkie imitated zipping her mouth, then locking it with a key, placing the key in a tiny safe, locking the safe, putting the small safe in a bigger safe, locking the safe, tying a rope around it, then hanging the safe in the air, and building a moat under the safe.

"I think that means she understands," said Fluttershy.

Pinkie nodded to confirm.

"Yeah...anyway, let's get going," said Rainbow Dash.

The three ponies stayed close as made their way through the halls. Rainbow looked to the front while Fluttershy and Pinkie kept an eye out from behind. Rainbow decided it would be best to start their search from the bottom and work their way up, so the group headed down to the first floor of the castle where they spotted Elixa with two guards.

"Is everything in order?" Elixa asked.

"Yes, Queen Elixa. Everything is in order and the situation is under control...you nightly seaweed wrap has just been prepared," one of the guards said.

Elixa jumped up and down like a schoolpony. "Yay! If there's one thing a queen doesn't need, it's saggy skin. I mean just imagine it; you're sitting on your throne one day and all of a sudden, BOOM! You're skin sags all over the ground. Ewwwww," she said.

 _You have beautiful skin, Queen Elixa_

 _The most beautiful skin in the world_

 _Our skin doesn't even compare to yours_

Suddenly, one of the servants started to get a headache, much to Elixa's annoyance.

"Wh-wh-wha-what is...going...on..." the guard said.

"Oh brother, not again. You two know what to do, get him a drink," Elixa said casually.

At Elixa's command, the other guards escorted the first one away in the direction of where Rainbow, Fluttershy, and Pinkie were standing. The group quickly hid underneath a nearby table.

"Let's follow them," said Rainbow.

"How come?" asked Pinkie.

"Have you ever noticed that every time someone gets woosy and or has a headache, Elixa tells the to 'go get a drink?'" Rainbow asked.

"Hmmmm...no," said Pinkie.

Rainbow sighed in annoyance. "Well I have. I noticed it when we were having dinner last night and earlier today in the garden," said Rainbow.

"Come to think of it, yesterday, when I was with a guard feeding Elixa's pet alligators, who are super cute by the way, he did start acting a little funny and after she noticed, she told the two guards she had with her to take him to get a drink," said Fluttershy.

"Actually, now that you mention it, when I was telling a knock knock joke to one of the guards, he did seem like he had a major ache in the head. I took him to see Elixa about it and she told the other guards to take him to get a drink," said Pinkie.

The three ponies began to notice a pattern and quickly followed the guards to wherever they were taking the other one.

* * *

Eventually, the group followed the guards to Elixa's throne room. They hid next to the entrance so as not to be seen after the guards entered.

As one of the guards restrained the other one, the first one approached a wall next to Elixa's throne and knocked on it in a very complicated pattern.

Rainbow, Pinkie, and Fluttershy watched as the wall opened up, revealing a hidden entrance that appeared to go below the throne room.

The two guards escorted the other one down the corridor before the wall closed behind them.

Rainbow rushed over to the wall and knocked on it, trying to figure the pattern to open it, but couldn't get it. Eventually, she kicked the wall in frustration. "Gah! It's no use!" she said.

"I'm sure you'll figure it out," said Fluttershy.

"It's not like simply unlocking a door with a key," said Rainbow Dash.

Just then, to Rainbow and Fluttershy's surprise, the wall opened up again. Pinkie stood next it, smiling.

"Well? You guys coming or what?" Pinkie asked.

"Pinkie, how did you do that?" asked Rainbow Dash.

"I just memorized the pattern, silly," said Pinkie.

"Nice work, Pinkie," said Fluttershy.

And with that, the group headed down, not knowing what they would find.

* * *

It was a bit of a long way down the dark winding staircase, but eventually, the group made it down to the bottom into what appeared to be a cave that lead straight forward from where they stood. Fluttershy attempted to cower away, but Rainbow Dash grabbed her by the tail before she could leave.

The three ponies walked down the cave, not a sound to be hear until they approached the end where the saw the guards sitting the third one in a chair in the middle of a small room. Surrounding the seated guard were three shelves upon which sat hundreds and hundred of tiny circular vial's of red liquids.

"What are those things?" asked Fluttershy.

"I think they're...potions," said Rainbow Dash.

The woosy guard gingerly sat as one of the other guards took a vial from one of the shelves.

"Ugh...my head hurts," the guard said.

"It's OK, this will make you feel all better," the other guard said as he opened the vial and made the other guard drink it.

Suddenly, the seated guard felt a strange sensation in his body and soon, his headache was gone. Then, he froze.

The second guard approached him. "Now, who is our supreme queen?" he asked.

 _Queen Elixa, the greatest, kindest and most generous queen in all of Equestria_

"And most beautiful, don't forget. But how could you? I mean look at me," said voice coming from behind the three ponies.

They turned around to find Elixia standing behind them, now with a red stripe running down her hair.

As she walked past them, she pulled back her robe to reveal her cutie mark which was a vile of potion. With a sinister smile on her face, she stood in front of the three ponies as her three guards walked up to her.

 _All hail Queen Elixa_

 _All hail Queen Elixa_

 _All hail Queen Elixa_

 _All hail Queen Elixa_


	2. Let's Get Out Friends Back

The secret of Elixa's empire had been revealed. There, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, and Fluttershy stood before the false ruler of a phony kingdom. But it appeared that the tables had turned on them as Elixa had them cornered inside her secret cave.

"I just have one very important question for you three...do you like my new dye? I had it done this afternoon," said Elixa.

"Oh yes, it's very pretty," said Fluttershy.

"Fluttershy!" said Rainbow.

"It was all a trap!" said Pinkie.

"You knew we would eventually find our way down here, didn't you?" Rainbow said.

"Phillies and gentleponies, the winner for Most Intelligent Pony goes to Rainbow Dash!" said Elixa.

 _Very funny, Queen Elixa_

 _Your humor is far superior to others, Queen Elixa_

 _No one can even think to compete with you in comedy, Queen Elixa_

"So you've been using potions to make these other ponies like you and do what you want them to do!" said Rainbow Dash.

"Correct again! One more and you win the grand prize!" said Elixa.

"How could you do this?" asked Fluttershy.

"Oh, it's easy. Just make about a dozens pounds of potion, purchase a few hundred vials, pour the potion into the vials, hide them in a secret cave where no one can find them, create a magic neutralization potion so no unicorns or alicorns can detect it, cetera, cetera, yadda, yadda, hay and oats, you've seen it yourself, you get the idea," said Elixa.

"No, I mean, why would you force these ponies to like you? That's not what true friendship is," said Fluttershy.

"What would you know!? You have a bunch of friends who appreciate you and whatnot! Ahem, anyway, if you're going to be a queen, you need ponies to listen to you and for that to happen, sometime, you need a little-a lot-extra push," said Elixa.

"Twilight was right, you're no queen. You're just a controlling, egomaniac," said Rainbow.

Elixa growled in anger. "I am not an egomaniac! I deserve to be admired and respected for my talents!" she shouted.

"Talent for what? Manipulating other ponies for your own self-gratification?!" said Pinkie.

"Hmph, what will be gratifying is having three new servants to admire me, as well as give me daily sponge baths," said Elixa.

The queen waved her hooves and ordered the guards to seize the three ponies, but Rainbow Dash kicked the three guards in the face, knocking them out, then grabbed Pinkie and Fluttershy to escape.

"Yeah, you ponies were worth every one bit," Elixa said sarcastically.

* * *

Several more guards awaited the three ponies in the hall, but Rainbow Dash took them all down as well as several others until they reached the exit where a dozen other guards attacked them, but luckily, Rainbow Dash was able to fend them off, enabling her, Pinkie, and Fluttershy to escape.

Elixa stormed from out of the castle along with Twilight, Applejack, and Rarity. "Follow them! Don't stop until you find them! Bring them back to me alive! And you...get my sponge bath ready," she said, pointing to a servant.

On Elixa's command, the three ponies and a number of guards followed the other three ponies to the outskirts of the castle in search of them. So far, they couldn't find a trace, but, determined not to let down their queen, they continued searching.

Unbeknown to them, Pinkie, Fluttershy, and Rainbow Dash had taken refuge in a nearby cave in the mountain region. From inside, Pinkie looked to see the guards who weren't near their location, so for the time being, they were safe.

"Whew! That was close," said Pinkie.

"Nice job, Pinkie. Who knew you carried a handy pocket shovel," said Fluttershy.

"Just one the many devices I never leave home without," said Pinkie.

Rainbow Dash however was not so relieved as she hovered back and forth in frustration.

"Rainbow Dash, what's wrong?" asked Fluttershy.

"What's wrong? What's wrong? You're really asking me what's wrong?! Oh, well let's see; our friends are being controlled by an egomaniacal pony in a castle filled to the brim with guards, only a hoofull of which are searching for us right now and we have no way of how to get them back!" Rainbow Dash shouted.

It was true that the current situation the three ponies faced was not looking in their favor to the least. This pony whom they were facing seemed just as smart as Starlight Glimmer was. Suffice to say, they would need the cleverest of plans to not only save the other ponies, but their friends as well.

"Ooh! Ooh! I got it!" Pinkie exclaimed.

"Let me guess, does it have something to do with tricking Elixa into thinking she turned into a frog so we'll be able to take the potions?" said Rainbow Dash.

"OK, maybe I don't got it," Pinkie said.

"This is serious, Pinkie! We can't just up and think outside the box! Our friends and over a dozen other ponies are counting on us!" said Rainbow Dash.

"You don't think I know that?! They're my friends too!" said Pinkie.

"Well covering Elixa in confetti and balloons is not gonna stop her," said Rainbow Dash.

Fluttershy stepped in to quell Pinkie and Rainbow's arguing. "Stop it! This is no time to argue!" she shouted.

Rainbow and Pinkie nodded in agreement. They had to figure out someway to free their friends and the other ponies from Elixa's control. The only question was how.

The three ponies spent the next hour formulating a plan. Pinkie tried hitting her head hard on a rock to get an idea. However, no matter how hard they tried, it seemed as though they could not figure out the solution to their current problem.

* * *

Twilight, Applejack, and Rarity each lead their own group of guards in their search.

At the western end of the mountain region, Rarity spotted what looked like a silhouette of Pinkie Pie and ordered the guards to go after her. They lunged forward, but soon found themselves caught in a net trap.

Rarity growled in anger before she heard familiar hopping sounds and an all too familiar giggling. She turned to see Pinkie Pie behind her, waving her butt in her face.

"Bet you can't catch me," said Pinkie before running off.

Rarity ran after her in pursuit.

* * *

Elsewhere, Applejack and her troops soon encountered Rainbow Dash who zipped past them.

"Get her!" Applejack shouted.

"Catch me if you can, slowponies!" Rainbow Dash said before flying away.

Applejack and the guards chased Dash to the edge of the mountains where she just disappeared.

Just then, they heard the sounds of horse feet clopping in the distance and went to check it out.

Applejack was about to follow when she was grabbed by the tail by Rainbow Dash and pulled away from the guards.

* * *

As for Fluttershy, she was being chased by a group of guards led by Twilight. She tried avoiding them in the forest region by zigzagging through the trees and it seemed as though she had lost them, but suddenly, Twilight teleported in front of her.

Fluttershy tried to escape, but the guards were blocking her way. "Oh, goodness," she said.

"Give it up, Fluttershy. You can't escape," said Twilight.

"No, I can't...at least not by myself," Fluttershy said before she gave a whistle.

Suddenly, a bunch of animals jumped out and attacked the guards, incapacitating them.

Furious, Twilight turned to see that Fluttershy had just disappeared.

Unknown to her, Fluttershy was hiding in the trees, shaking in fear, hoping that she wouldn't be seen.

* * *

As Applejack pursued her, Rainbow Dash proceeded to mock her.

"C'mon, Applejack, you're slower than a...a...really...slow...turtle!" said Rainbow.

Meanwhile, Pinkie and Fluttershy were keeping Rarity and Twilight occupied for as long as they could.

Fluttershy tried to get away from Twilight, but was quickly stopped by her magic.

"I've got you know, Fluttershy," said Twilight.

But Rainbow Dash, out of nowhere, came in and tackled Twilight to release Fluttershy and the two soon escaped and ran into Pinkie Pie who took out her party cannon and launched a net Twilight, stopping her as the three ran off.

After losing sight of the three mind controlled ponies, Rainbow, Pinkie, and Fluttershy stopped to catch their breaths.

"I don't know how much longer I can keep this up," said Pinkie.

"Me either," said Fluttershy.

"I'm exhausted too, but we can't let them catch us," said Rainbow.

"And they caught us," Pinkie said as Rarity, Applejack and Twilight suddenly surrounded them. "BANANA CREAM PIE IN THE HOLE!"

Pinkie pulled out three banana cream pies and threw them in the three ponies faces.

"Now!" Rainbow shouted to Fluttershy who jumped.

As Twilight, Applejack, and Rarity were wiping the cream off their faces, Fluttershy pulled out a slingshot and fired three balls of goo at their feet, trapping them.

The three ponies escaped and on Rainbow's command, the three split up again, hiding in the nearby trees.

Using her magic, Twilight freed herself and the others from the goo. "C'mon! We have to find them!" she said.

* * *

From this point out, Rainbow, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie used a variety of traps to outsmart their three mind-controlled friends.

Pinkie trapped Rarity in a leg rope trap; Fluttershy made Applejack fall into a hole by leading her in with an apple pie; and Rainbow Dash lead Twilight into a net.

Afterwards, the group reunited, all pretty exhausted from their efforts and at this point, they had all run out of traps. Try as they might, they wouldn't be able to hold them off forever.

Just then, they found themselves caught in a familiar purple wave of energy as Twilight, Applejack, and Rarity approached them.

"Nice try, but there's no gettin' away this time," said Applejack.

"Now you will be brought to Queen Elixa," said Rarity.

Before Twilight could get a word in, she began to feel a little...woosie. "Wh-wha-what's going on?" she said.

Her woosiness caused her to break Fluttershy, Pinkie, and Rainbow from her hold.

Soon, Applejack and Rarity began to have the same feeling, gaining tiny headaches that brought them to their knees.

"What the Sam Hill just happened?" asked Applejack.

"How in Equestria did we get here?" asked Rarity.

It seemed as though Elixa's spell had worn off. Rainbow, Pinkie, and Fluttershy's plan had worked. As Rarity, Twilight, and Rarity rubbed their heads, their three friends approached them.

"Are you guys ok?" asked Fluttershy.

"I think so. The last thing I remember is I was having dinner with Elixa then she offered me a drink and took to this underground chamber with all these potions. then she used one on me that disabled my magic, so I couldn't fight back, then she gave another potion and that's all I can remember," said Twilight.

"The same thing happened to me too," said Applejack.

"And me too," said Rarity.

Pinkie rushed over and gave all three of them a group hug. "I'm just sooooooooooooooooooooooo glad you're all back to normal," she said.

After Pinkie let them go, Rainbow walked over to them. "OK, so we got you guys back, but what are we gonna do about those other ponies?" she said.

The obvious course of action was to get to Elixa's potions and destroy them, but as Rarity pointed out earlier, Elixa was sure to hundreds or thousands of guards on hand to keep them from getting to it. Not to mention the fact that she showed to have a high degree of intelligence to the point where she was able to get an alicorn under her control.

Twilight pondered and pondered as to what to do until she came up with an idea. It may be a little risky, but if everypony played their cards right, it just might work.


End file.
